Flora and Fauna
Calibran is a wide land, with a number of different environments that are home to any number of plants and animals. Some are familiar, such as cats, dogs, dandelions and daises. Others, however, are strange and occasionally terrifying. Flora Plants and other immobile living things. Feyberry The feyberry plant is common to most of Calibran, being found near the edges of woods and in places that tend to be at the boundaries of shadow and light. The berries are small, blue, and hard. They are sweet, but it is a dangerous sweetness. Eat a few, and you'll have stomach cramps for a day. Eat a handful, and you may not live that long. The leaves, however, are prized for their healing properties. When used as part of a poultice, a wound or rash will heal faster than it might otherwise have. Boiling the leaves and breathing in the vapor will loosen colds and clear airways. The name refers to the legends of common folk that tend to gather these leaves, dry them, and save them against need. They say that on certain nights, when the moon is right, you can see the little fey folk congregating around the plants, adding their magic to them. The fact that the scholarly and wise consider the fey to be nothing more than stories does not bother the storytellers in the slightest. Hungerclock vine The Cliffs of Ronin are home to many strange and dangerous plants. The hungerclock vine is one of the less dangerous, sending tendrils into the cliff face and climbing between levels and plateaus. The vine itself is often used as ropes by explorers scaling the cliffs. The leaves of the vine are small and dark green, while the flowers are a vibrant purple. The leaves are known to turn to follow the sun across the sky, while the flowers follow the moon at night. When dried and crushed together in a powder, they make the hungerclock spice, an expensive addition to dishes such as stews and breads, the flavor of which changes depending on the time of day and the position of the sun and moon. It might be sweet at noon, bitter at sunset, and savory at midnight. The flavoring is never quite the same twice, as the sun and moon never travel the same path across the sky. Reignweed This plant is ubiquitous in Calibran. It grows commonly among tall grasses, and might be difficult to spot among similar wild plants. It is marked, however, by the black bands that grow at intervals along the plants' stalks. The stalks, when split open, are full of fibrous matter that is used by many to lower fever. It can be chewed, or used to bind wounds, though a common side effect of using the weed is loosened bowels. Redroot The name is a bit of a misnomer, as the roots are usually brown as any other plants'. The flower is bright red, however, and so is easily spotted. The roots are useful, when crushed into mush, for drawing infection from wounds. It is not a common plant, being found mostly around the southwest of Calibran, near the cities of Cathedra Gate and Pelaj. As these are the most heavily settled areas, and redroot is seen as a weed by those who do not understand it's beneficial properties, the number of plants have been much reduced. An effort is underway to domesticate the plant in several places, and grow them in gardens and greenhouses. Sapstems Sapstems are small trees that grow thin and green. Young sapstem plants, before they grow large enough not to need the extra protection, are full of a white milk that can numb the tongue of animals that seek to eat it. The milk is also harvested to be used to lessen the pain of wounds, headaches, and other hurts. It must be carefully managed, however, for it is poisonous when used in too large amounts. Stoneroot Coming soon. Twlight Flower Twlight flower is a plant similar enough to jasmine that it can only be identified when it blooms briefly at sunset, the flowers a deep orange rather than jasmine’s white or yellow. When harvested at blooming, the petals add a delicate flavor highly prized by connoisseurs of tea, and is said to heal hurts of the mind and soul. It is native to the Island of Persenoes. Youngblood flower Another plant found on the strange Cliffs of Ronin. This plant has yellow flowers streaked with red, with petals that grow large as a man's hand. The pollen, when breathed in, can cause visions and hallucinations. Collected carefully, and then treated with certain secret spells, it can be used as a flavoring for food. When used in food, it can cause visions of childhood. It is sometimes addictive, and older people are advised not to eat foods cooked with the youngblood spice. Fauna Animals, including the magical and monstrous. Dire Wolves The popular conception of these animals is that they are simply big wolves, which is not entirely inaccurate. They are taller than common wolves, more muscular, and with large fangs. Though of a different species, they will sometimes join with common grey wolves to form mixed packs. Packs made up solely of dire wolves are not unknown, though they tend appear more frequently in wild, uninhabited places. When they edge into inhabited land, they are hunted down and broken up quickly. The larger animals need more feeding, and cover larger ranges. They have been known to decimate herds of cattle and other livestock in short order, and when they go hungry they will sometimes hunt people. More often than not, however, such prey is too dangerous, and they will avoid areas with large populations. A common variant in the far north is the winter wolf. They are fairly similar to dire wolves elsewhere, with the exception of their white pelt and greater tendency to wander off by themselves, becoming rogue wolves without a pack. The hides of the white wolf are valued for their pure white fur, and the difficulty in obtaining them. Thalagring Trivog Wood Wyrm Yeti Magical Creatures Those animals that owe their existence to magic, or partake of it in some way. Wood Wyrm Chaos Monsters As the name implies, these are people and animals, and sometimes plants, that have been changed by the Chaotic power that has it's center in the northeast of Calibran. They never take the same form twice, and they can have unpredictable powers and traits. They are rare, found most commonly near the Chaos Lands. Some stories say that a wound or bite will infect another with Chaos. People, with the occasional exception of the mad or desperate, give that area a wide berth, and so not much is know about them. Nightwalkers Nightwalkers are an intriguingly unique, if dangerous, example of life in Calibran. They are the walking dead, but more than merely thoughtless husks animated by magic. They have a malign intelligence, and are infused with the power of Chaos.